The present invention relates to a tape recorder capable of performing a dubbing operation, or duplication of other tape drive mechanisms, with a one-touch action and simultaneously recording and reproducing with several tape drive mechanisms.
Hitherto dubbing a master tape has involved electrically connecting a first tape recorder and a second tape recorder with a cord, loading the master tape on the first tape recorder, loading an unrecorded magnetic tape on the second tape recorder, reproducing with the first tape recorder and recording with the second tape recorder.
This dubbing system requires two tape recorders so that it is expensive, large and heavy and thus inconvenient.
An arrangement to eliminate these disadvantages is shown in FIG. 1 where a double cassette tape recorder forms a cassette loading or receiving chamber having two tape drive mechanisms in the one tape recorder. In FIG. 1, a tape recorder body or housing 1 has a front surface with a pair of cassette loading or receiving chambers 2 and 3 and mode change sections 4 and 5 for changing various operating modes in each cassette receiving chamber 2 or 3. The mode change sections 4 and 5 include mechanical push button switches 4a-4f and 5a-5f in a line for performing, for example, recording, reproducing, stop rewind, fast forward, and pause operations as shown in FIG. 1 from the left.
The front surface of the housing 1, also holds line level adjusting volume control knobs 6 and 7 and microphone level adjusting volume control knobs 8 and 9 which are positioned on the left side of the cassette receiving chamber 2, and a level indicator 10 for displaying the recording level of left and right lines, a reproducing level adjusting volume control knob 11, microphone jacks 12, 13 and a head-phone jack 14 which are positioned to the right of the cassette receiving chamber 3.
Performing a dubbing operation with such a tape recorder involves first loading a master tape in the cassette chamber 2 and then loading an unrecorded magnetic tape in the cassette chamber 3. In this condition an operator simultaneously pushes the reproducing operation push button switch 4b of the cassette chamber 2 and the recording operation push button switch 5a and the reproducing operation push button switch 5b of the cassette chamber 3.
A time lag arises from the pushing action of the switches 4b, 5a and 5b and results in an unwanted recording. For example, when the switch 4b is pushed faster than the switches 5a and 5b the master tape starts to rotate before the unrecorded tape starts to record so that the initial portion of the master tape may not be recorded. In the case of a microcassette particularly, both ends of the magnetic tape are directly fixed to respective hubs of the cassette, so that the entire tape from the initial portion to the end is used for recording. The lag of the recording operation therefore, causes an unrecorded initial portion and an interruption of the recording at the end because the take up of the magnetic tape stops before the recording is fully completed. The switches 4b, 5a and 5b must also be actuated separately so that the operation of the tape recorder becomes complicated.
The same problem arises in a double cassette tape recorder using a logic control switch as the mode change arrangements 21, 22 shown in FIG. 2 in which the other portions of the tape recorder except for arrangements 21, 22 are the same as that of FIG. 1 so that like reference numerals designate like or functionally equivalent parts.